Pinetown was established in 1850 along the main wagon route between Durban and Pietermaritzberg, springing up around what was then the Wayside Hotel. The small town was named after Sir Benjamin Pine who was the governor of Natal.Pinetown was for a time the home of Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Scout Movement. His original house is preserved there.

Today Pinetown is easily accessible from any of a number of major highways in the area, and it is largely due to this fact that industry in the area has increased immensely in recent years. The town lies at the foot of Field's Hill on the M13 highway along the route of the world famous Comrades Marathon.

Pinetown is also the home of the Lahee park sporting complex which boasts it's own swimming pool, hockey, rugby, cricket, and tennis facilities, and in more recent years a gymnasium and motocross track. The Pinetown Cricket Club, was established in 1873, and is believed to be the oldest in Kwa-Zulu Natal and one of the oldest in South Africa.

Overlooking Pinetown is the New Germany Nature Reserve which is a rather small reserve with pleasant, shady picnic sites, braai areas, wonderful trails which take visitors in a circular route around the reserve. The main attraction of the reserve is a hide located close to a waterhole where visitors can expect occasional sightings of zebra, nyala, impala, samango monkeys and others. Pinetown is also host to an annual racing event which sees hundreds of visitors flocking to its streets. The main streets are closed off to form a track, on which various motorcycle and go-kart races take place. Other attractions in the town include the Pineville Junction craft village, which is a recreation of an old style corrugated iron village, where various arts and crafts, and delicious snacks are sold on alternate weekends. This is also the site of the popular Lord William Charles Pub, which was also constructed in a style of times gone by. There are a number of pubs and clubs in Pinetown, all of which contribute to an interesting night life.When it comes to shopping in Pinetown, there is the newly renovated Pine Crest Centre which offers a variety of stores ranging from jewellery stores to tobacconists.